The Political Economy of Live Streaming in China: Exploring Stakeholder Interactions and Platform Regulation Yuanbo Qiu A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney 2021 i Statement of originality This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. Yuanbo Qiu February 2021 ii Abstract Watching online videos provides a major form of entertainment for internet users today, and in recent years live streaming platforms such as Twitch and Douyu, which allow individual users to live stream their real-time activities, have grown significantly in popularity. Many social media websites, including YouTube and Facebook, have also embedded live streaming services into their sites. However, the problem of harmful content, data misuse, labour exploitation and the burgeoning political and economic power of platform companies is becoming increasingly serious in the context of live streaming. Live streaming platforms have enabled synchronous interactions between streamers and viewers, and these practices are structured by platform companies in pursuit of commercial goals. Arising out of these interactions, we are seeing unpredictable streaming content, high-intensity user engagement and new forms of data ownership that pose challenges to existing regulation policies. Drawing on the frameworks of critical political economy of communication and platform regulation studies by Winseck, Gillespie, Gorwa, Van Dijck, Flew and others, this thesis examines regulation by platform and regulation of platform in a Chinese context. The thesis asks how Chinese live streaming platforms control and mould communicative activities through their proprietary algorithms, contracts and policies, and examines how multiple stakeholders work together to regulate the platforms in order to defend and maintain the public interest. To examine these issues, the historical transformation of live streaming in China, the role of the state and live streaming regulation and the complexity of the platformisation have all been explored in detail through the lens of the selected theoretical frameworks. The thesis concludes with some reflections on contemporary platform studies and recommends that future researchers take a more holistic view that explains the complexity of the cultural and political structures underpinning the platform ecosystem. It points out that exploring platform regulation in the context of Chinese live streaming can contribute to the existing body of platform theory and, in that process, ‘de-Westernise’ existing platform regulatory studies. iii iv Contents Statement of originality ................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii List of figures ................................................................................................................................................ x Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Live streaming and its development ............................................................................................................. 1 Literature review and theoretical frameworks .............................................................................................. 4 Live streaming and interactivity ........................................................................................................... 4 Political economy of communication and platform regulation ............................................................. 6 Research questions of this thesis ................................................................................................. 11 Conceptualising governance and regulation ....................................................................................... 13 Definition of key terms ............................................................................................................................... 15 The concept of individual live streaming in this thesis ....................................................................... 15 Existing studies and their definitions of live streaming .............................................................. 16 The meaning of ‘live streaming’ in this research ........................................................................ 16 Streaming terminology in contemporary discourse ............................................................................ 18 Official event live streaming ....................................................................................................... 18 Streaming video sites .................................................................................................................. 19 Channels on live streaming platforms that do not provide live streaming content ..................... 19 Other terms related to live streaming .................................................................................................. 20 Streaming channels/rooms .......................................................................................................... 20 Tipping/gifting/donation ............................................................................................................. 20 Game streaming .......................................................................................................................... 20 Live shows .................................................................................................................................. 21 Partnered streamers ..................................................................................................................... 21 Bullet-screens .............................................................................................................................. 21 The organisation of this thesis .................................................................................................................... 24 v Chapter 2 Platformisation and the historical development of live streaming in China ..................... 27 Platformisation in China ............................................................................................................................. 28 The role of the Chinese state in platformisation ................................................................................. 29 Empowerment and exploitation in a different social context .............................................................. 31 The development of live streaming in the United States ............................................................................ 33 Lifecast and Twitch.tv......................................................................................................................... 33 The practice of interactivity: Social TV and live streaming ............................................................... 36 Sociability of watching ............................................................................................................... 37 Co-viewing and socialisation on a single platform ..................................................................... 38 The popularity of live show performances: Different trajectories in the development of Chinese live streaming ................................................................................................................................ 42 From voice chat to live video entertainment ....................................................................................... 42 The socialising of watching in China: From pseudo-synchronous interaction on Acfun to synchronous interaction on Douyu ..................................................................................................... 43 The characteristics of Chinese live streaming industries ............................................................................ 45 The quasi-monopoly of Twitch in the West and the oligopolistic market in China ........................... 46 Different viewer demographics ........................................................................................................... 47 Genres of streaming content: Enthusiasm for erotic performances .................................................... 49 From advertising to tipping: The differences of core business and sources of revenue ..................... 52 Twitch: Relying on subscription and ads .................................................................................... 52 Chinese platforms: Profiting from paying viewers rather than ads ............................................. 53 Modes of partnership and employment: A unique talent agency model ............................................. 58 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................